The Runesmith

“Uff…”

“Hey, what’s your problem?”

“You think that just because you can sense mana that it makes you better than me?”

“What are you even talking about? I never said anything like that, is your head made out of mush?”

“Shut up!’

“Hey, stop it!”

Two children of young ages were seen fighting. One was clearly older than the other and the height difference was apparent. The smaller child was covering their head while the larger one was hitting it. Soon some servants came and were able to pull the larger boy of the smaller one.

“Let me go!”

“Young master Robert, you musn't. The lord has forbidden such behavior!”

“Young master Roland, are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”

While the youth by the name of Robert was pulled away while flailing around an older maid could be seen hugging the younger boy.

“What took you so long?”

The boy replied while rubbing his bloody nose. It was a bit odd that the younger boy was more composed and was not even crying. The older boy on the other hand burst out in tears the moment the adults arrived and started reprimanding him.

“What happened?”

“Lady Francine, young master Robert attacked master Roland again…”

The lady that arrived now started tending to the older boy while just giving Roland a side glance. Without saying anything she started walking away, it didn’t seem like she would punish the boy named Robert nor did she help the one called Roland.

“Heh…”

“Master Roland?”

The boy that was close to six years of age gave out a sigh while dusting off his clothes.

“It’s fine Martha, I’m used to this.”

“Oh, Master Roland…”

The old maid quickly gave the young boy a hug while tearing up. The boy on the other hand looked more annoyed than sad at the small cuts and bruises that he had suffered.

This was one of the many memories that were now rushing into Roland’s head. He had just stepped out from the guild’s corridor and saw someone that he didn’t expect. It was one of his older brothers, the youngest of them called Robert Arden.

Just like him, he was someone that came from a mistress. He had no claim to the main Arden estate and was treated more as a resource. The last time the two had seen each other was during a family gathering that was more than six years ago.

Robert then was already at the knight academy working as a squire. The young teenage boy that he once knew was replaced by a large imposing young man instead. Even though he hadn’t seen him for so long he instantly recognized his older brother.

‘The hell is he doing here… why would he be here so far away from home? Did he recognize me? No, there is no way for him to know, I’m still wearing my armor. ’

Roland was now backing away from the corridor while slightly panicking. There was no reason for his older brother to be here, he should have been in a knight academy that was deeper inside of the mainland.

There could be a few possibilities why he was here of all things. One of them was to find Roland which he was the most afraid of. The other one was the more bearable explanation which would make this only a coincidence.

The young lords could transfer from academy to academy and also perform tasks to gain merits. The academies worked similar to schools where you gained credit. This dungeon expedition could have been one of those assignments that would give a lot of credit. It might have been the best option for him to finish his knight academy.

Robert was three years older than Roland. The trainee knights would be done with school at around this age. This could really just be the last assignment for him. He would even get more merit points for crossing the sea and getting on this island on his journey. Which would then allow him to be done with the academy sooner than most other young lords.

‘Calm down… this doesn’t have to mean anything…’

*Whine*

While still being a bit shocked he felt Agni poke his leg with his nose. He was finally able to snap out of it. Lobelia was now standing next to him after he had come to a stop. It was clear that she was confused after bumping into his red armor.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Soon Armand appeared from behind and just walked through the door through which the guildhall was. Roland flinched a bit while backing off, still a bit afraid of showing himself.

“So that’s one of the nobles? Doesn’t look that special to me…”

“Hey be quiet, he might hear you.”

Lobelia elbowed Armand in the stomach that caused him to flinch a bit. The two were now looking at the knight that had come to the guild. Luckily for everyone Silvio was there as well, he was the team leader and had already been clued into this meeting.

“Good day, I’m the leader of the party that has been hired for this expedition.”

He stretched out his hand towards this young man in shining armor but instead of a handshake, he got an empty stare. The young man continued to look over the people here before answering.

“Good, we have decided to rest for the day, you are to meet us at the dungeon entrance tomorrow.”

Silvio retracted his hand while keeping his cool as the conversation continued.

“At what hour should we meet?”

“Just wait for us, we will arrive.”

It seemed that they wouldn’t be getting a proper answer and that this knight might not even know when they would be there. They were not in a position to complain, they were already hired for a large sum of money. Waiting for a few hours outside the dungeon entrance was the least they could do.

“Very well, we shall wait for you at the entrance tomorrow.”

“Good.”

The young man nodded and then quickly removed himself from the guild. He seemed to be in a rush while also having the look of disdain on his face. The moment he left the guild Roland finally decided to peek out.

“Who does that prick think he is?”

“Yeah, he was being awfully rude to Mr. Silvio!”

Armand and Lobelia commented after seeing the scene being played out. It was strange to look at the young knight be disrespectful towards a person that was in the position of a tier 3 class.

“It’s fine, you know how those nobles are, no respect for anyone other than themselves.”

Silvio didn’t seem too concerned though, he even had a slight smile on his face as he continued to look at the door through which the young knight left.

“Listen up everybody, it looks like we will have to postpone the departure as our little noble guests have decided to stay for the day. It would be better if you avoided them altogether, we wouldn’t want any incidents to happen, now would we?”

Silvio said while looking at a certain muscle-bound person.

“Hey, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Don’t worry team leader, I’ll keep him away from any trouble!”

Lobelia proclaimed while puffing out her chest.

“Hey stop treating me like a little kid, why would I get into trouble?”

“He isn’t very aware of himself, is he?”

Silvio turned to Lobelia while raising one eyebrow. This team leader has already been clued in by the guild master about Armand's tendencies. The half-elven girl just laughed while Armand’s face turned to confusion. While all of this was happening Roland was slowly entering the guildhall, now without the knight being here the coast was clear.

"Hey, didn't that knight look familiar?"

Lobelia turned to Armand while asking, her older brother just shrugged as he wasn't someone that really cared about men's faces.

“Oh well...see you tomorrow at the Dungeon Wayland.”

Lobelia waved at the slightly spaced-out Roland while also pushing Armand out of the guild building. Soon everyone went on their way with only Silvio remaining here.

“You should go home, get some sleep, we don’t know how much rest we will be able to have with those nobles around.”

“Ah sure, see you tomorrow then.”

Roland nodded while moving towards the exit slowly. He was wearing his armor and his entire face was covered. There was no reason for him to be discovered. His voice had also changed so in theory his older brother shouldn’t be able to figure his origins out even if they talked.

The only thing that he needed to watch out for is removing his helmet. Luckily he was part of the adventurer party and not of the noble knights. He would not really need to comply if they even ordered him to show his face.

After stepping through the guild's door the first thing he saw was a large green man heading his way. It was the last party member that was already late, Korgak. The two stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.

Roland wasn’t really sure what to say to this guy as they had never really interacted before. Korgak on the other hand had a certain alcoholic smell to him and wasn’t speaking either.

The half-orc nodded and Roland nodded back unsure of what was the meaning of this gesture. The two then went on their way with Korgak entering the guild building behind him. This was followed by a sneezing Agni that was a bit more susceptible to the odor.

“Let’s go home for now Agni.”

“Woof.”

It seemed that the coast was mostly clear. He could see a carriage out in the distance, it clearly belonged to the nobles and was pure white. Roland also recognized the symbol of one of the magic academies that was there.

Surprisingly it was also one that was situated deeper into the mainland. Through this, his theory of the young nobles getting more points for the prolonged journey on this mission started making some sense.

The not fully mapped out dungeon would also add to the mission’s difficulty rating. The foolhardy youths were probably ignoring the dangers that could come out of this over getting better grades.

Roland knew that the possibility of unforeseen dangers was low, thus this might have actually been a good gamble. He wasn’t sure about how they rated this but the added grade could allow the participants an early graduation.

The magic and knight academies took long and stunted the level of growth of their participants slightly. They focused mostly on leveling up skills over pure leveling that experience points gave them. Even with that, they came out stronger than their adventurer counterparts. Mostly from having access to better knowledge and unlocking more prestigious classes.

‘I already signed the contract, I can’t turn back now…’

His first instinct was to cancel this mission. Regretfully he already signed one of those magical contracts. He was already promised the manufacturing knowledge after completing the mission. Only after that, his deal with the guild would be finalized. If he quit now he would have to pay dearly not only with money but also with his time.

This was understandable as the guild’s reputation with the nobles was at stake. The guild master needed to have everyone sign a contract that couldn’t be broken easily. Otherwise, the whole party could fall apart even on the day when the mission started. Then the guild would need to pay a massive fine.

The more gold you earned during the mission the more was required from the guild. The nobles were sure to pay more to get some insurance. If the guild wasn’t able to deliver their side of the deal they would be punished accordingly.

The mission that they would be taking on didn’t seem that difficult so it wasn’t strange that the guild master agreed to these demands. To him, the nobles were already overpaying by a lot for something like one party of adventurers.

They would be even doing most of the fighting themselves. It was almost like free money. Roland's party only needed to stay with them as lookouts and assess the situation. If everything went as planned, it would be similar to a camping trip.

The carriage was far away but he could see some of the armored knights following after it. He wasn’t sure which one of them was his brother but it didn’t seem that his position was that high.

‘They used him as a messenger, he clearly is only one of the grunts here…’

Roland had an idea as to why this was the case. It was all tied to noble status. Someone from a Baron’s household was mostly on the lower end of the hierarchy. Robert’s mother was also only a daughter of a merchant, she was not nobility.

Bloodlines were taken very seriously in this kingdom. His father Wentworth was also just a first-generation noble. He gained his status thanks to his military prowess. Unless the bloodline was connected to some old nobles or lasted at least three generations, a person wasn't yet seen as a proper member of the noble cast.

Robert was probably fighting an uphill battle, a battle that Roland evaded with him leaving his old home behind. He knew that as the fourth child of a baron he would be treated like a commoner. Having to be bullied by smarmy noble kids for years to come was not something that he wished to do.

For some reason, his brother Robert was the reverse. He was adamant in showing his own worth to his father. The moment Roland showed that he had an aptitude for mana the two got into many fights. Roland had a few ideas about why this was happening and Robert’s mother had something to do with it.

‘The kid has his own problems… hope he matured a bit since last time…’

Roland wasn’t really mad at his siblings for being like this. They were the product of their surroundings. The wives pressured their children into being the best while hoping for them to get high positions in society.

The noble life where your image and status was everything was very cutthroat and fake. It wasn’t rare to see one of your friends or allies throw you to the wolves the moment they find a better deal elsewhere. Everyone needed to prove their worth before they could achieve anything. Robert was clearly taking the same path as his father did.

With a turn of his heel, he headed in the opposite direction that this convoy of noble people was heading. Bernir was quite surprised when he saw Roland being back already. There was not much to do besides checking if he didn’t forget anything. He was sure to fasten his helmet to his armor as much as he could, it would have to stay on there for quite a bit.

On the next day, he said his farewells once more and went to the meeting place. It took less time than going to the city and he didn’t need to force his way through the crowds.

“Praise the sun.”

Was what he heard when he got there. Sister Kassia was already there just like the previous day he was the second person there. Roland started wondering if sun church clerics had some kind of sleep resistance skill like he did. The woman had to have been here for some time as she was sitting on a blanket and was already drinking tea.

“Would like to talk about the ladies gospel while drinking tea my friend?”

“Ah now, I’m fine…”

This place was outside the dungeon right and not far away from the forest. They were near the main path so they would see other party members if they finally arrived. Roland leaned up against one of those trees while waiting.

Silvio was the third person to arrive, with the brother and sister duo of Armand and Lobelia being third. Korgak as before was late by a whole hour but this didn’t matter much. The nobles took their time and even when the sun was close to reaching the very sky they weren’t here.

“Damn nobles making us wait…”

Roland heard wood cracking as Armand punched a tree. They had been stuck waiting for multiple hours without anything to do. They had some noble ladies with them that were apparently mages. It was reasonable to believe that they wouldn't rush over here and only arrive after a filling meal.

“Hope they won’t tell us to come back tomorrow…”

Lobelia commented while yawning.

“Don’t worry, the guild will pay us more depending on how long this mission takes. The contract began yesterday, so we’ll get compensated.”

Silvio started reassuring the party of mad adventurers.

“Woof.”

“Think They are here....”

Roland proclaimed after Agni barked out. Soon the sound of horses and a carriage could be heard by all of them. The time to delve into the dungeon has finally arrived. Roland was sure to fix his helmet once more his main task was to make himself inconspicuous.

“It’s time to earn our keep!”

Silvio called out for everyone to get ready while also moving out first. He needed to discuss some things with the leader of the noble side, after that it was time for some dungeoneering.